Combat Fake News to de-escalate tensions

THE greatest gift of all is human life. Anything that can reduce a threat to it needs to be seen as duty of citizens. One way embers of violence is being fanned is via fake news and unfounded rumours.

Please cross check everything forwarded to you and err on the side of caution and questioning everything that can lead to panic, violence or retaliatory behavior in any shape or form.

We need to move to democracy as rational public conversation.

Imagine for example the suggestions that after Friday prayers today (last week) there would be killings in Kano.

Our investigations showed those were baseless and reality has borne that out. Ditto for issues about Igbos invading the palace of the Oba of Lagos when evidence showed the rioters speaking a language different from Ibo. Same for the questionable logic of Ndigbo vandalising stores when they are typically the traders of the land. Who in common sense destroys what belongs to himself.

What is important is that we become an army of de-escalators of potential for action that would lead to a loss of lives and property at a time when poverty is ravaging the country and killing our people and such property are necessary for job an wealth creation. We can neither afford to lose lives nor have private property and infrastructure damaged.

• Prof. Utomi writes from Lagos